Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky categorically rejected attempts by Russian President Vladimir Putin to blame Kiev for a terrorist attack near Moscow on Friday.
“After what happened yesterday in Moscow, Putin and the other bastards are of course just trying to put the blame on someone else,” Zelensky said in his daily video address on Saturday evening. Moscow always uses the same methods, he said. “And they always blame others.”
After the attack on the concert hall near Moscow, “this absolute nobody Putin” stayed silent for a day instead of looking after his Russian citizens, Zelensky said.
Instead, Putin thought about “how he could bring this to Ukraine.”
His comments came after Putin said earlier that there was a “Ukrainian trail” after the attack, though did not add further details.
At least 133 people died in the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue on Friday evening. The Islamic State terrorist militia claimed responsibility for the attack.
Zelensky accused Russia of spreading terror itself, saying Russians were coming to Ukraine to burn down cities “and trying to blame it on Ukraine.”
They tortured and raped people – and blamed the victims, Zelensky said. “They have brought hundreds of thousands of their own terrorists here, on Ukrainian soil, to fight against us, and they don’t care what happens in their country.”